But why muddy the terminology, when there is already a clear distinction between the two major factions? where CAD isused to denote the traditionally engineering oriented, and 3D modeling is for the traditionally organic model design tool, do you need to mix the two? They each serve distinct specialized purposes and their definition are widely recognized within industry in general already.
finalarbiter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
Blender, Solidworks, AutoCAD, Catia, and any other modelling software of your choice all ultimately do the same thing: build digital representations of objects based on our understanding of how they might exist in physical reality. They differ in the workflow to get there, which is why we have terms like surface modelling programs and parametric CAD to differentiate their function or workflow.
OP literally used Blender to manufacture a physical thing- the qualification of Blender as “not CAD” is what’s actually muddying the water. If it isn’t a CAD program, how could they have physically manufactured their design?
To suggest that only some types of programs that do this are CAD is unnecessarily reductionist and doesn’t actually help anyone understand the difference between them. There is legitimate differentiation to be made with things like CAM programs, rendering software, etc., where you are now using that digital representation to achieve some end goal. CAD is about creating those digital assets that could ostensibly exist in the real world, regardless of whether it’s meant for animation, manufacturing, simulation, or whatever else.